1) Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for recycling composite materials, and more particularly, to methods and systems for recycling composite laminate materials into recyclates that maintain a fiber volume fraction and a lamina level fiber alignment substantially the same as the composite laminate materials from which they are recycled.
2) Description of Related Art
Composite structures are used in a wide variety of applications, including in the manufacture of aircraft, spacecraft, rotorcraft, watercraft, sporting goods, wind turbine components, automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles and structures. In particular, composite structures may be made of composite multilayer laminate materials having aligned, high fiber volume fraction reinforcement, e.g., carbon fibers in a cured resin matrix, which provide strength and structural support during the life of the composite structures.
Such composite structures reaching the end of their life are typically sent to landfill or waste incinerators. Composite material waste, such as scrap, trimmings, and the like, created during the manufacturing process of such composite structures are also disposed of in the same manner. An increased awareness and need has developed for the recycling of such end of life composite structures and manufacturing waste or scrap. However, the recycling of composite laminated materials, which typically involves removal of the matrix resin to obtain the reinforcing fiber, may be challenging due to the intimate nature of the dissimilar component materials and the state in which known processes leave laminated materials after recovery.
Known processes for recycling dissimilar laminated materials and composites typically use mechanical comminution and/or pyrolysis for recovery of energy and/or select higher value components, such as carbon fibers. However, the products of such known processes may be limited in their value due to either purity issues and/or the form of the recyclate. Moreover, manual labor may be required for macro separation and sorting of such dissimilar laminated materials which may increase expense.
In addition, known processes for recycling laminated continuous fiber composites may remove the resin matrix and result in random fiber or filament materials which are only suitable for low value, low fiber volume applications. Random oriented recovered fibers may be undesirable and may be of decreased value in comparison to organized, high packing density oriented fibers used in the laminated composite materials from which they were recycled. Known processes for reorienting recovered random oriented fibers into aligned high volume fraction forms may add increased cost to manufacturing the recyclate.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for recycling composite laminate materials for recovery of valuable fibers and resins that provide advantages over known systems and methods.